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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · game · ground · hide · straw · mouse · bass · pitch

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ground — a position
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bass — low music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. game — a match
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bass — the fish
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. chair — a leader
  17. ground — crushed
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. ground — the earth
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com